Timber is similar to many other commodity items. Once removed from the stump and transported, individual logs are virtually indistinguishable from other logs. One market may value these logs more than another market. It is known in the industry that cut timber is stolen or diverted and sold for the highest value.
There is often little or no accounting of the timber from the time it is cut to the time it reaches its planned destination, such as a paper mill. During this time frame, many inaccurate recordings and other mistakes are made, both intentional and unintentional. Existing methods for keeping track of timber include the use of paper tickets, bar coded paper and cards, credit cards, log entries, and other paper methods which are replete with the possibility of unintentional mistakes, and susceptible to intentional misreporting, subterfuge, and theft.
The consumer ultimately pays the price of lost or stolen timber in the form of higher prices for all forest products such as paper, packaging, and lumber. It is an object of this invention to decrease the amount of cut timber which is lost, stolen, or otherwise goes unaccounted for.
Timber Value Varies By Timber Type
A wide variety of timber types and species exist in the United States. The climate, soils, moisture, and man's influence all play a part in determining the type of timber growing in any one area. Specific types of timber are used to make different wood products. Pines are used for lumber, pulpwood, plywood, telephone poles, piling, cabin logs, turpentine, and other chemical extraction. Upland Hardwood Forest trees are used for lumber, pulpwood, and veneer. As pulpwood, hardwood sold is less valuable than pine, but used as sawlogs or veneer logs, the hardwood is often more valuable than the pine. Swamp Hardwood Forest trees are used for sawlogs or veneer logs. The value of the timber standing on the stump is directly related to the value of the finished product. For example, wood suitable for fine furniture commands a better price than wood which is to be chipped up and made into paper. Some products dictate their own prices, such as telephone poles which must meet certain height and taper conditions. Growing these poles requires a longer growth cycle than found with pulpwood and sawlogs. Many tree with pole potential are cut early and used as sawlogs, causing a shortage of poles, therefore increasing the market price for the remaining poles. It is an object to the invention to consistently and accurately keep track of the type of timber harvested from a particular plot of land and thereafter delivered to a destination.
Timber Volume and Weight Measurement
Another factor affecting the value of timber is the measurement of the cut timber. Pulpwood and Sawlogs can be purchased by either weight or volume. Poles and Veneer are normally purchased by volume and each log is scaled individually. Historically, wood of all types has been sold based on volume. In recent years this practice has changed to sales being made based on weight (priced per ton). Currently, many states require wood to be purchased only on a per ton basis. It is an object of the invention to consistently and accurately account for the timber volume and weight measurements from the time the timber is cut to the time it is received at its destination.
Generic Discussion of the Chain of Responsibility in Timber Harvesting
The method of the invention establishes specific responsibilities for each individual involved in the process of harvesting, transporting, delivering, and receiving the timber. As an example of what is a typical case in the industry, these individuals will include a timber owner, forester, logger, crew chief, truck driver, and Scale House Operator. Each of these individuals' responsibilities are unique and specific. The timber owner, or his agent, is the person who owns the rights to timber on a particular tract of land. The forester is the person who will negotiate a contract for the terms of sale of timber with a logger. The logger will assign the task of cutting a tract of timber to a particular crew chief. The crew chief will be responsible, at the site of the timber, for its cutting and loading onto a vehicle, and for its delivery to a particular destination by a driver. The Scale House Operator is employed at the destination, usually by the entity purchasing the timber. The Scale House Operator is typically responsible for accepting delivery of a load of timber from the driver, and for accounting for the load with respect to load size, timber type, seller, date and time, and other information.
Accounting
Currently, the two principal methods of accounting control include using a paper system or a credit card system.
With a paper system, the logger either writes down or "tells" the crew chief the pertinent information about the loads he has delivered. The crew chief fills out a numbered form (in carbonless triplicate) and gives one copy to the truck driver to provide to the mill. The truck driver then gives the form to the Scale House Operator at the mill. The Scale House Operator then enters the information from the form. Problems arise when the logger or crew chief (intentionally or unintentionally) provide inaccurate information to the mill. Also, the truck driver may "lose" paper tickets, and the Scale House Operator has the responsibility to accurately enter the information at the mill, which may not be done due to error or an intentional act.
With a credit card system, the mill provides the logger with multiple cards for each tract from which he cuts timber. These cards are coded with a magnetic strip or bar code. Each card has a unique number identifying what tract the timber came from, along with other information. The truck driver gives the card to the Scale House Operator. The Scale House Operator reads the card with the computer. The computer uses the unique number to "look up" the appropriate data file which has all the pertinent information. The logger has the responsibility to provide the proper card to the truck driver. The truck driver, who may have many different cards for different tracts, may inadvertently give the wrong card to the Scale House Operator, or he may do so intentionally. By using the credit card system, the opportunity exists for inaccurate information to be entered either using the wrong card, or inputting the wrong information, such as recording that the timber came from one tract, when it actually came from another tract.
In addition to these two methods, in other existing methods, the logger essentially "tells" the crew chief the contract number, the landowner, the tract number, and other pertinent information. The crew chief then "tells" the truck driver this information, the truck driver then "tells" it to the Scale House Operator. The Scale House Operator then must account for the information as stated. Anyone involved in this process could provide inaccurate information completely based on trust. These methods place reliance on lower level personnel, such as the logging crew chief, truck driver, or Scale House Operator. These employees often are not capable of handling this responsibility in an accurate manner. Workers are not necessarily educated. Many crew bosses do not have higher-level education. Some are illiterate. Some truck drivers are illiterate. The Scale House Operator is typically the highest educated personnel in the process. It is rare to find any personnel with much education past high school.
It is an objective of this invention is to eliminate the many ongoing accounting and security problems that exist in the harvesting and delivery of commodities, such as timber. There are several timberland security risks. Until the wood is scaled, all volumes are estimates. Assets are geographically dispersed, difficult to lock up, and rarely supervised. Due to downsizing, many contractors do much of the work. There are many markets and multiple products. The people who cut and haul the wood are normally not the owner's employees, or family members, and therefore may not be trustworthy.
Another reason why improved security is necessary is that employee dishonesty will rise to the highest level tolerated by management. There are several opportunities and motives for fraud to occur. Despite control measures, mills often purchase stolen wood. If the wood is delivered under a valid contract by a current vendor, most mills accept the wood as coming from the tract specified in the contract. Therefore, the burden is placed on the logger to ensure the wood came from the tract identified in the paper records. When he signs the contract, he warrants that he has free and clear title to the timber he is delivering. Once the wood is delivered and placed in a pile at the destination, such as a sawmill, or pulpmill, its identity is lost. Tracing its origin is rarely done because of expense and effort.
Three security problems include: (1) petty theft, whereas the truck driver steals an occasional load, (2) mistakes, due to the lack of workers' education and absence of control, and (3) serious theft, which involves intentional stealing. It is another object of the invention to eliminate the first two problems, and to increase the mill's ability to control the third problem, (serious theft).
There are several objects of this invention, including:
reducing the risk of, and incidences of, timber theft. PA1 reducing the paperwork involved in tracking commodities, such as timber. PA1 reducing the amount of paperwork errors. PA1 reducing the amount of required accounting staff. PA1 increasing efficiency in the process of tracking commodities, such as timber. PA1 providing greater accuracy in reports of commodity loads, such as timber loads. PA1 providing greater accountability for the acts of those responsible for timber harvesting. PA1 providing increased profits to land owners and commodity owners. PA1 reducing temptations for theft.